k2reader – Page 53 – Always With a Book

k2reader April 1, 2016

Book Spotlight: Start With the Backbeat: A Musical Novel by Garine B. Isassi

Title:Start With the Backbeat: A Musical Novel Author:Garine B. Isassi Published:April 2016, She Writes Press Format:Paperback, 273 pages It is the spring of 1989 in New York City when Jill Dodge, a post-punk rocker from Texas, finally gets her big promotion at Mega Big Records. She is thrust into a race to find a gritty, urban rapper before the Gangsta trend passes their label by. As Jill and her mostly…

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k2reader March 29, 2016

Book Spotlight & Guest Post: Stars Over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

Title:Stars Over Sunset Boulevard Author:Susan Meissner Published:January 2016, NAL Format:Paperback, 400 pages In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its Golden Age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship. Los Angeles, Present Day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister’s vintage clothing boutique by mistake,…

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k2reader March 28, 2016

Review: The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag (audio)

Title:The Bitter Season Author:Tami Hoag Series:Kovac & Liska, #5 Narrator:David Colacci Published:January 2016, Brilliance Audio Length:13 hours 47 minutes Source:Publisher EVERY FAMILY HAS A SECRET. THEIRS WILL CHILL YOU TO THE CORE. #1 New York Times Bestselling author Tami Hoag returns to the bestselling series of her career with a Kovac and Liska case that will delight fans and new readers alike. A murder from the past. A murder from…

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k2reader March 27, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in March 25

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About So, this past week was all about taking it easy – light, easy walks because I was still sick with that nasty cold that turned into a sinus infection. Luckily I got some good meds from the doc and am feeling much better! I think between the meds and just taking it easy,…

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k2reader March 26, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Swamp Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title:Swamp Bones Author:Kathy Reichs Series:Temperance Brennan, #16.5 Narrator:Katherine Borowitz Published:August 2014, Penguin Random House Audio Length:2 hours 54 minutes Source:Library Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan returns in a chilling original short story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs. In the prequel to Reichs’s upcoming thriller Bones Never Lie, Tempe takes a much-needed vacation—but murder follows wherever she goes. Although a trip to Florida is supposed to be about…

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k2reader March 25, 2016

Review: The Widow by Fiona Barton

Title:The Widow Author:Fiona Barton Published:February 2016, NAL Format:ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source:Netgalley For fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, an electrifying thriller that will take you into the dark spaces that exist between a husband and a wife. When the police started asking questions, Jean Taylor turned into a different woman. One who enabled her and her husband to carry on, when more bad things began…

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k2reader March 22, 2016

Blog Tour & Review: The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley (audio)

Title:The Storm Sister Author:Lucinda Riley Series:The Seven Sisters, #2 Narrator:Noreen Leighton, Rachel Lincoln Published:November 2015, Whole Story Audiobooks / March 2016, Atria Books Length:21 hours 28 minutes/ARC e-copy 512 pages Source:Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley via HFVBT Ally D’Aplièse is about to compete in one of the world’s most perilous yacht races, when she hears the news of her adoptive father’s sudden, mysterious death. Rushing back to meet her…

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k2reader March 21, 2016

Review: Somewhere Out There by Amy Hatvany

Title:Somewhere Out There Author:Amy Hatvany Published:March 2016, Washington Square Press Format:ARC E-copy, 368 pages Source:Netgalley What happens when two sisters who were torn apart when their young mother abandoned them—and grew up in tragically different circumstances—reunite thirty-five years later to find her? For readers who love Jodi Picoult, acclaimed author Amy Hatvany fearlessly explores complex family issues in her gripping, provocative new novel. Natalie Clark knew never to ask her…

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k2reader March 20, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in March 18

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About The week started out good, but then between having a huge bid due Thursday and coming down with a cold, it didn’t end quite as well as I hoped! Oh well…these things happen. I might have to stick with just walking and light yoga until I’m done with the cold – I’m…

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k2reader March 18, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Bones of the Lost Author:Kathy Reichs Series:Temperance Brennan, #16 Narrator:Linda Emond Published:August 2013, Simon & Schuster Audio Length:11 hours 37 minutes Source:Library #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with her sixteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan, whose examination of a young girl killed in a hit and run in North Carolina triggers an investigation into international human trafficking.When Charlotte police discover the body of…

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k2reader March 15, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Dogwood Hill by Sherryl Woods (audio)

Title:Dogwood Hill Author:Sherryl Wood Series:Chesapeake Shores, #12 Narrator:Christina Traister Published:December 2014, Brilliance Audio Length:10 hours 47 minutes Source:Library #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods tests the strength of the beloved O’Briens and proves that love and family can always triumph! When former pro football quarterback Aidan Mitchell comes to Chesapeake Shores to take a high school coaching job, he’s embraced by the town—especially the O’Briens. But Aidan has…

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k2reader March 14, 2016

Review: Shadow Play by Iris Johansen (audio)

Title:Shadow Play Author:Iris Johansen Series:Eve Duncan, #19 Narrator:Elisabeth Rodgers Published:September 2015, Brilliance Audio Length:9 hours 27 minutes Source:Publisher An explosive new Eve Duncan thriller from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Eve Duncan is the most sought-after artist in the field of forensic sculpting. Dedicated to her work ever since her daughter Bonnie was taken and killed at the age of seven, Eve feels a sense of duty to…

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k2reader March 13, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in March 11

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About It was a pretty good week. I found a strength training workout, called Bootcamp Body Workout , that I started doing this week. I really like it so far, though am slowly easing my way into the full workout – you are supposed to do the whole circuit 3X in 30 minutes…

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k2reader March 8, 2016

Review: The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Title: The Two-Family House Author: Lynda Cohen Loigman Published: March 2016, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC E-book, 301 pages Source: Netgalley Brooklyn, 1947: in the midst of a blizzard, in a two-family brownstone, two babies are born minutes apart to two women. They are sisters by marriage with an impenetrable bond forged before and during that dramatic night; but as the years progress, small cracks start to appear and their…

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k2reader March 7, 2016

Book Spotlight: Come Away With Me by Karma Brown (w/ link to review)

Last Spring, at BEA, I was fortunate to pick up an advanced copy of Come Away With Me by Karma Brown. So of course, I was ecstatic when I heard it was one of the BookSparks ‘My Winter is Booked’ selections. I read it over the summer and devoured it. You can read my thoughts of the book here. Title:Come Away With Me Author:Karma Brown Published:August 2015, MIRA Format:…

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k2reader March 6, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in March 4

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About I got my 10K in for February!!! I was able to just sneak it in on the last day – but I did get it in. I hope to continue to get in a few more throughout the year and to do at least one, if not more, 5K’s a month! So, I have…

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k2reader March 3, 2016

Review: The Ex by Alafair Burke (audio)

Title: The Ex Author: Alafair Burke Narrator: Xe Sands Published: January 2016, Harper Audio Length: 7 hours 43 minutes Source: Library In this breakout standalone novel of suspense in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on a Train, a woman agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been framed for murder—but begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated. Twenty years ago she ruined his…

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k2reader March 1, 2016

Month in Review: February 2016

Here are my reading stats for February! Books read: 12 Books I read: White Gardenia — Belinda Alexandra (audio) The Doll’s House — M.J. Arlidge (e-book) Bones of the Lost — Kathy Reichs (audio book) No Ordinary Life — Suzanne Redfearn (e-book) The Ramblers — Aidan Donnelley Rowley (audio) The Ex — Alafair Burke (audio book) Swamp Bones — Kathy Reichs (audio book) What Was Mine — Helen Klein Ross…

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k2reader February 29, 2016

Review: The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

Title:The Edge of Lost Author:Kristina McMorris Published:November 2015, Kensington Format:Paperback, 340 pages Source:Publisher via She Reads From New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes an ambitious and heartrending story of immigrants, deception, and second chances. On a cold night in October 1937, searchlights cut through the darkness around Alcatraz. A prison guard’s only daughter—one of the youngest civilians who lives on the island—has gone missing. Tending the warden’s greenhouse,…

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k2reader February 29, 2016

Review: Losing the Light by Andrea Dunlop (audio)

Title:Losing the Light Author:Andrea Dunlop Narrator:Cassandra Campbell Published:February 2016, Brilliance Audio Length:10 hours 27 minutes Source:Publisher A smart, obsessive debut novel about a young woman studying abroad who becomes caught up in a seductive French world—and a complex web of love and lust. When thirty-year-old Brooke Thompson unexpectedly runs into a man from her past, she’s plunged headlong into memories she’s long tried to forget about the year she spent…

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k2reader February 28, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in February 26

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About I got 2 more 5K’s in…but still trying to get a 10K in for this month…not sure it’s going to happen in February, but I do have a few more days, so we’ll see what happens. Here’s how my week went: Feb 20: 7,334 stepsFeb 21: 6,249 steps Feb 22: …

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k2reader February 25, 2016

Review: White Gardenia by Belinda Alexandra (audio)

Title: White Gardenia Author: Belinda Alexandra Narrator: Deirdre Rubenstein Published: 2015 Bolinda Publishing / Gallery Books Length: 17 hours 48 minutes / ARC E-copy 480 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley From internationally bestselling author Belinda Alexandra comes a sweeping, emotional journey that “depicts vividly the powerful lifelong bond between mothers and daughters” (Paullina Simons, author of The Bronze Horseman). In a district of the city of Harbin,…

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k2reader February 23, 2016

Review: What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

Title: What Was Mine Author: Helen Klein Ross Published: January 2016, Gallery B0oks Format: ARC E-copy, 336 pages Source: Netgalley Simply told but deeply affecting, in the bestselling tradition of Alice McDermott and Tom Perrotta, this urgent novel unravels the heartrending yet unsentimental tale of a woman who kidnaps a baby in a superstore—and gets away with it for twenty-one years. Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary woman who does…

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k2reader February 21, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in February 19

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About This was a good week I got two good walks in and remembered to use this great app I have on my phone – Charity Miles, so that all my steps get counted for good!!! I’ve decided to support Girls on the Run because my one niece, Morgan, is a runner and does…

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k2reader February 18, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Bones in Her Pocket by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Bones in Her Pocket Author: Kathy Reichs Series: Temperance Brennan, #15.5 Narrator: Linda Emond Published: December 2013, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 1 hour 56 minutes Source: Library A new story featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan—from #1 New York Times bestselling author and FOX TV’s Bones producer, Kathy Reichs. When a fly-covered canvas bag floats to the surface of North Carolina’s Mountain Island Lake, forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is…

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k2reader February 15, 2016

Review & Giveaway: The Ramblers by Aidan Donnelley Rowley (audio)

Title: The Ramblers Author: Aidan Donnelley Rowley Narrator: Erica Sullivan Published: February 2016, Harper Audio / William Morrow Length: 11 hours 24 minutes / 400 pages Source: Personal Copy via Audible / ARC Paperback via Publicist For fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Meg Wolitzer, Claire Messud, and Emma Straub, a gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their…

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k2reader February 14, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in February 12

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About It was a relatively quiet week this past week. My sister was having her baby on Friday and since I intended on being there at the hospital, I wanted to make sure I didn’t get sick again. I decided to take every precaution of not catching any germs – I worked from home…

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k2reader February 12, 2016

Review: No Ordinary Life by Suzanne Redfearn

Title: No Ordinary Life Author: Suzanne Redfearn Published: February 2016, Grand Central Publishing Format: ARC E-copy, 400 pages Source: Netgalley via Publicist Suzanne Redfearn delivers another gripping page-turner in her latest novel, a story about a young mother’s fight to protect her children from the dangerous world of Hollywood. Faye Martin never expected her husband to abandon her and her three children . . . or that she’d have to…

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k2reader February 10, 2016

Review: The Doll’s House by M.J. Arlidge

Title: The Doll’s House Author: M.J. Arlidge Series: Helen Grace, #3 Published: February 2016, NAL Format: ARC E-copy, 432 pages Source: Netgalley The bestselling author of Eeny Meeny and Pop Goes the Weasel brings back Detective Helen Grace, who is hot on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this gripping new thriller. Detective Helen Grace is on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this gripping thriller…

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k2reader February 8, 2016

Book Spotlight: Platinum Doll by Anne Girard

Title: Platinum Doll Author: Anne Girard Published: January 2016, MIRA Format: Paperback, 368 pages Set against the dazzling backdrop of Golden Age Hollywood, novelist Anne Girard tells the enchanting story of Jean Harlow, one of the most iconic stars in the history of film It’s the Roaring Twenties and seventeen-year-old Harlean Carpenter McGrew has run off to Beverly Hills. She’s chasing a dream—to escape her small, Midwestern life and…

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k2reader February 7, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in February 5

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About It was a pretty good week. I got my first 5K of the month in – thanks to insomnia!!! I’m so glad my gym opens so early…lol!!! I think I was at the gym at 4:15am that morning and I don’t even work on Mondays 🙂 But, it was great getting it…

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k2reader February 5, 2016

Review & Guest Post: In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson

Title: In Another Life Author: Julie Christine Johnson Published: February 2016, Sourcebooks Landmark Format: ARC E-copy, 368 pages Source: Netgalley via publicist Historian Lia Carrer has finally returned to southern France, determined to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. But instead of finding solace in the region’s quiet hills and medieval ruins, she falls in love with Raoul, a man whose very existence challenges everything she knows…

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k2reader February 3, 2016

Book Spotlight: The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young (w/ link to Review)

Last Spring, at BEA, I was fortunate to pick up an advanced copy of The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young, a book the publisher and publicists were praising. So of course, I was ecstatic when I heard it was one of the She Reads ‘Books of Winter’ selections. I read it over the summer and devoured it, and cannot wait until the next book comes out in the series.…

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k2reader February 1, 2016

Month in Review: January 2016

Here are my reading stats for January! Books read: 11 Books I read: Me Before You — Jojo Moyes Lost & Found in Cedar Cove — Debbie Macomber (e-book) The Forgotten Room — Karen White, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig (e-book) After the Crash — Michel Bussi Bones Are Forever — Kathy Reichs (audio) The Things We Keep — Sally Hepworth (e-book) Avenged — Elizabeth Heiter (e-book) The Storm Sister —…

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k2reader January 31, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Bones Are Forever Author: Kathy Reichs Series: Temperance Brennan, #15 Narrator: Linda Emond Published: August 2012, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 9 hours 30 minutes Source: Library #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs, a producer of the Fox hit show Bones, is back with her fifteenth “pulse-pounding” (Publishers Weekly) novel featuring North America’s favorite forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan—a story of infanticide and murder set in the high…

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k2reader January 31, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 29

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About It was an ok week. I was really tired all week for some reason, so getting up to go to the gym didn’t really happen after Monday…not sure what’s going on there. I still have my head cold, though it is much better. I think fighting that is really taking a lot out…

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k2reader January 30, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Flash & Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Flash & Bones Author: Kathy Reichs Series: Temperance Brennan, #14 Narrator: Linda Emond Published: August 2011, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 8 hours 33 minutes Source: Library Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County…

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k2reader January 29, 2016

Review: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

Title: The Things We Keep Author: Sally Hepworth Published: January 2016, St. Martin’s Press Format: ARC E-copy, 352 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there’s just one another resident her age,…

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k2reader January 26, 2016

Book Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway: No Ordinary Life by Suzanne Redfearn (Giveaway Closed)

Title: No Ordinary Life Author: Suzanne Redfearn Published: February 2016, Grand Central Publishing Suzanne Redfearn delivers another gripping page-turner in her latest novel, a story about a young mother’s fight to protect her children from the dangerous world of Hollywood. Faye Martin never expected her husband to abandon her and her three children . . . or that she’d have to struggle every day to make ends meet. So when…

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k2reader January 25, 2016

Short & Sweet Review: Lost & Found in Cedar Cove by Debbie Macomber

Title: Lost & Found in Cedar Cove Author: D ebbie Macomber Series: Rose Harbor, #1.5 Published: July 2013, Ballantine Books Format: E-book, 36 pages Source: Library Debbie Macomber’s heartwarming new series, set at the Rose Harbor Inn in picturesque Cedar Cove, displays the author’s signature talent for creating characters who feel like friends, and small towns that feel like home. In this original short story available exclusively as an eBook,…

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k2reader January 24, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 22

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About So, this week wasn’t my best week. I was nursing a head cold, plus I spent three days at my brother’s house babysitting my nieces. I didn’t make it to the gym at all this week, but that’s ok…I did focus on watching what I eat. My sister-in-law is an amazing cook and…

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k2reader January 21, 2016

Review: Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

Title: Eight Hundred Grapes Author: Laura Dave Narrator: Joy Osmanski Published: June 2015, Simon & Schuster Audio Length: 8 hours 6 minutes Source: Library There are secrets you share, and secrets you hide… Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The…

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k2reader January 18, 2016

Review: The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams & Lauren Willig

Title: The Forgotten Room Author: Karen White, Beatriz Williams & Lauren Willig Published: January 2016, NAL Format: ARC E-copy, 384 pages Source: Netgalley via Publisher New York Times bestselling authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig present a masterful collaboration—a rich, multigenerational novel of love and loss that spans half a century…. 1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan’s Upper…

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k2reader January 17, 2016

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in January 15

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About Another good week…I managed to get another 5K on the treadmill at the gym again. And I’m done with jury duty…only needed to go in on Monday – those 14k+ steps that day were from me walking to and from the train station and then walking around the city…it was a cold…

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k2reader January 15, 2016

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Title: Me Before You Author: Jojo Moyes Series: Me Before You, #1 Published: July 2013, Penguin Books Format: Paperback, 369 pages Source: Personal copy Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always…

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k2reader January 14, 2016

Review: The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro (audio)

Title: The Muralist Author: B.A. Shapiro Narrator: Xe Sands Published: November 2015, High Bridge Company / Algonquin Books Length: 9 hours 9 minutes / ARC Paperback 352 pages Source: Audio – Library / ARC – Publisher From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Art Forger comes a thrilling new novel of art, history, love, and politics that traces the life and mysterious disappearance of a brilliant young…

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k2reader January 14, 2016

Book Spotlights: The She Reads’ Books of Winter Selections

Last week, the gals at She Reads announced the three ‘Books of Winter’ selections. I’ll be reading these, so be sure to keep an eye out here for my reviews. So without further ado…here are the Books of Winter: Title: The Gates of Evangeline Author: Hester Young Published: September 2015, G.P. Putnam’s Sons From a unique new talent comes a fast-paced debut, introducing a heroine whose dark visions bring to…

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k2reader January 11, 2016

Book Spotlight: The 8th Circle by Sarah Cain

Title: The 8th Circle Author: Sarah Cain Series: Danny Ryan Thriller, #1 Published: January 2016, Crooked Lane Books Format: Hardcover, 336 pages A year ago, Danny Ryan lost his wife and son in a car accident. He’s still reeling from the tragedy when Michael Cohen, his friend and fellow journalist, drives into the pond in front of his house with a bullet through his gut. With Michael’s death ruled a…

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k2reader January 11, 2016

Review: A Wedding on Primrose Street by Sheila Roberts

Title: A Wedding on Primrose Street Author: Sheila Roberts Series: Life in Icicle Falls, #7 Published: July 2015, MIRA Format: ARC E-copy, 384 pages Source: Netgalley There’s nothing like a wedding! The joy, the fun, the memories—the stress. As a wedding planner, Anne Richardson has seen mothers of the bride turn into Momzillas, and she’s determined not to do that when it’s her daughter’s turn to get married. But once…

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k2reader January 10, 2016

2016 #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks Reading Challenge

I typically fail at TBR reading challenges despite having so many of my own books sitting on my shelves just waiting to be read…Each year without fail, I sign up for the challenges, saying “this year will be different…I will read my own books…I will make a dent in those piles sitting own my shelves” and without fail, those are the challenges that I never seem to make any progress…

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